Shining Light
by EscapeWithImagination
Summary: AU AH Klaus is a lonely publishing mogul fed up life in the spotlight, until he sees Caroline walk into his party. Songfic inspired by Shining Light by Ash. M for possible later chapters.


_You arrive and the night is alive_

_Yeah, you are a shining light._

The orange light of the flames was all that lit up the large ballroom, thousands of long white candles jammed into empty wine bottles, the wax dripping down and hardening on the sides, gothic, striking, beautiful and lonely. He could be described in the same way, standing out from the crowd with his rugged good looks he took over the room, hundreds of pairs of eyes following him, a king among men. The women watched him in admiration and lust, hoping he would make his way towards them, lean in towards their cheek just enough so that they could feel the heat of his skin against their own. The men watched his every step, longing to move like him, to charm like him. Niklaus was only too aware of how the general public regarded him, they held him to a ridiculous, impossible standard, and he was unable to trust a single one of them. Over the years he'd tried to let people in but ultimately they all turned out to have ulterior motives, nobody really wanted to be his friend, they got close to him in order to use his name, or his body as it sometimes ended up. Not one soul had ever actually been interested in knowing him, in knowing his interests or thoughts, they all assumed they already knew him from things they had read in the media, he'd never admit it, but he was utterly lonely. Heir to the largest publishing company in the world and entirely consumed by self-loathing.

Niklaus flickered from group to group casually overlooking the perfectly manicured hands that pawed at his arm, the over made eyes that tried to bore into his own, the obnoxious jokes from men trying to make a name for themselves. Mastering the art of looking interested had been easy for him and had served him well over the years, he found it easy to remember names and faces and so everybody believed he had a personal interest in them, in fact, he was just an exceptionally good businessman. The crowds were gathered tonight to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mikaelson Publishing, the company had hired out this ancient castle with a banquet hall and ballroom and pulled out all the stops to make it into a wintery, dark, sinister space to fit with the theme of the publishing houses most successful book series, a vampire series which Niklaus found obscene and ridiculous.

Five more minutes and it would be acceptable for him to excuse himself, he wanted nothing more than to return to his apartment and spend an hour working on his latest painting to wind down before going to sleep, that was until he saw her walk in. 20 metres across the room stood the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, a vision of light in this murky room she wore a lilac dress with soft silver detailing across the bodice, her golden hair was swept up with just a few gentle curls framing her face, and what a face it was, warm blue eyes, rosy cheeks and the most genuine smile you could imagine, for the first time in his life Niklaus was unaware of himself, he had not noticed himself staring but those in his company had, "Are you quite alright Mr Mikaelson? You look as though you've seen a ghost?" enquired Raymond Carpenter, a director with the company whom Niklaus despised.

"On the contrary Carpenter, I believe I have just seen an angel. Would you excuse me?" He didn't take his eyes off her as he crossed the room, for once ignorant to the prying eyes, he could see nothing but her, she was glowing in the company she held, quietly observing the conversation, politely smiling, but oddly distant. Nothing would do but he got to speak to her. The eyes of everyone in the room apart from those in her company were on him, he slowly approached the small group of people and braced himself for what was to come, this feeling, it must be nerves, was new to him. He sucked in a quick breath and stepped up to her side. She turned to face him and their eyes met with a burning force that he was not expecting. They took each other in with similar fervour, up close she was even more breath taking than when he had first seen her, her flawless skin was pale but somehow intense, she was incandescent.

"Good evening, my name is Niklaus Mikaelson, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you." Stumbling through the sentence he finally managed to introduce himself.

"The pleasure is all mine Mr Mikaelson, I am Caroline Forbes, this is a beautiful party, congratulations on 50years." Her voice was dripping with a quiet strength that was unexpected but wholly welcome to Niklaus.

Caroline, he thought to himself, yes, there was a name he could get used to hearing; it was joyous and beautiful, just like its owner. He was completely overcome with her beauty.

"Thank you very much Caroline, please, call me Klaus. I believe the firework display is about to start, would you like to accompany me to the courtyard? You can tell me about yourself under the night sky, although both the fire and the stars can only pale in comparison to how you shine." Caroline's cheeks blushed crimson at his words.

"Lead the way" was the modest reply as she held up her arm for him to lead her to the courtyard.

Two hundred hushed conversations began as the party guests watched the infamously mysterious Niklaus Mikaelson lead this exquisite woman out into the night.

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**A/N Hi everyone. Hope you enjoyed this quick songfic inspired by Ash's Shining Light. If you like it I can continue, so let me know in the reviews. And follow me on tumblr if you like at iamsiredtodelena**


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